Ask Ross Blog

Featured Articles

Good Credit Hygiene Saves Over $100K On Typical Mortgage

Many services are available to give Canadians free access to their credit scores, but the problem is they all provide different results. No industry standards exist to ensure credit score ...
Read More

Ready To Buy A Home? How To Assemble A Great Support Team

Everyone needs a home-buying support team that includes a real estate agent, mortgage specialist, and real estate lawyer. As you search for the right team members, it's helpful to know ...
Read More

First Time Homebuyer? The Government Wants To Give You Money.

How to get your share of government financial incentives available Canadian first time homebuyers. There's lots available, but in most cases you need to ask for what you're entitled to ...
Read More

COVID-19

How to Fix or Rebuild Credit Fast in Canada

Situations often arise where a new mortgage application, or car loan/lease, is impacted by a credit score that's lower than ...
Read More

COVID-19 Impact on Canadians’ Financial Well-Being

Running commentary and news updates on COVID-19's impact on banking, real estate, mortgages, government relief programs, personal credit, and other ...
Read More

COVID-19 EI Benefits and CERB Updates — Q & A from Soc...

Stay at home orders have forced many Canadians to be temporarily out of work and collecting government benefits for the ...
Read More

COVID-19 Q & A: Is It Possible to Renew a Mortgage While In ...

A reader asks whether COVID-19 has affected her ability to renew a mortgage while still in a consumer proposal, and ...
Read More

All Articles

When Do You Need a Co-Signer For Your Mortgage?

In 2021, mortgage qualification rules are stricter and homes are more expensive as a whole. In this market, it’s not always easy to qualify ...
Read More

What Is The Impact Of Rising Interest Rates On Mortgage Pre-Appro...

With inflation in Canada at its highest levels in 18 years, talk has resumed about the prospect of higher mortgage interest rates much sooner ...
Read More

First Time Homebuyer Mortgage Checklist

When you are making plans to buy your first home, it's impossible to know what you don't know. This first time homebuyer mortgage checklist ...
Read More

What’s The Best Mortgage Rate?

Published: • Reputable mortgage specialists do not believe the number one factor in selecting a mortgage is the interest rate. Once you understand what ...
Read More

Ready To Buy A Home? How To Assemble A Great Support Team

Everyone needs a home-buying support team that includes a real estate agent, mortgage specialist, and real estate lawyer. As you search for the right ...
Read More

Why You Need A Down Payment Strategy

Having the right down payment strategy can save you a lot of money in the long term, and pay back with more equity growth ...
Read More

Mortgage Lingo You Need To Know

Glossary and explanation of important mortgage terms, with links to relevant articles that discuss the nitty gritty. Links to related concepts make this glossary ...
Read More

Mortgage Pre-Approval FAQs

Mortgage pre-approval is essential to knowing what your affordability range is before you make an offer to purchase a home. We explain how lenders ...
Read More

Why Is My Mortgage Application Declined?

Mortgage #FAILS. Learn the underwriting risk factors that lenders use when evaluating your mortgage application, and the top 10 reasons why you may not ...
Read More

First Time Homebuyer? The Government Wants To Give You Money.

How to get your share of government financial incentives available Canadian first time homebuyers. There's lots available, but in most cases you need to ...
Read More

High Ratio Mortgages Explained

'High ratio mortgage' is a term many first time homebuyers haven't heard before, and often they don't understand how much it impacts what they ...
Read More

Aftermath of COVID-19: Dramatic Shifts in Housing Supply, Demand ...

Adjusting to a post COVID-19 world, many things will be different, some permanently. We analyze how Canadian housing markets, including supply, demand and costs ...
Read More

Top 10 Things Your Home Buying Budget Needs To Include (In Additi...

How Do You Ensure Your Homebuying Budget Covers Everything You'll Need For Closing Day? Buyers quickly learn it's much more than just coming with ...
Read More

How Will Borrowers Be Impacted By CMHC’s Tougher Canadian M...

With a shell-shocked COVID-19 Canadian economy as backdrop, CMHC moved to tighten lending standards for insured mortgages. New rules for CMHC-insured mortgages are intended ...
Read More

Mortgages 101 — What You Need to Know Before Applying For a...

Most first-time buyers lack sufficient funds to purchase their home outright and require loan financing (a mortgage) to make it work. In this article, ...
Read More

How To Bypass Canada’s Mortgage Stress Test When It Gives a...

Canada's mortgage stress test was designed to help ensure Canadians don’t overstep their financial means. However, there are special cases where it makes sense ...
Read More

Is Mortgage Pre-Approval Worth It

Whether shopping for a new home, have a mortgage renewal coming up, want to refinance or just want to know how much you're able ...
Read More

Mortgage Pre-Approval In Canada: What It Is & How To Get It

Mortgage pre-approval is used by lenders to “vet” borrowers and estimate spending ability for a home purchase. Seven factors determine the amount, both for ...
Read More

First Time Home Buyers Ontario: Everything You Need to Buy Your F...

In this primer for first time homebuyers, we examine how you know you're ready to take the leap, 7 steps to become a homeowner, ...
Read More

The Single Biggest Mistake Made By First Time Home Buyers

Can You Guess The Biggest Mistake First Time Home Buyers Frequently Make? Hint: It’s NOT choosing the wrong paint colour! As a first time ...
Read More

Jump to:

Featured Articles

Recent Articles

COVID-19

Most Popular Articles

All Articles